According to Zhou, organizers undertook risk assessment with overseas security groups and liaised with diplomats at home and abroad in making the assessment.
“Our preliminary finding is that the possibility of a terrorist attack in Beijing is very small, but we cannot rule out some unstable factors from overseas,'' said Zhou.
To help safeguard the Beijing Olympics which open on Saturday, August 8, China has spent as much as $1.5 billion beefing up security, setting up missile launchers around facilities to fend of air attacks and enforcing a no-fly zone over the city. Beijing has an anti-terror force of 100,000, as well as 150,000 security guards and 290,000 volunteers to help keep order, the Xinhua News Agency has reported.
Furthermore, Zhou said a “very comprehensive” insurance plan has been purchased from PICC Property & Casualty Co., the largest property insurance company in China. The policy covers stadiums, athletes, cars and spectators. Each member and official of the Chinese Olympic team is insured by PICC for 1 million yuan, says Zhou.
Also, PICC says it is insuring the various Olympic stadiums, including the Bird's Nest national stadium, for 3.45 billion yuan ($500 million), and the vehicles in use to shuttle passengers from site to site around the Games have combined coverage of 6 billion yuan.